Small white dots on ghost mantis face

[Ratmosphere]

Was fooling around with my new macro lens and noticed a few small, white dots on the face of my ghost mantis. Could these be mites? Let me know.

 

[GingerC]

I think they might just be simple eyes, but I don't really know for sure. Other close-ups of ghost mantids show a few white dots here and there, so they might just be markings.

 

[Andrea82]

If the dots move, they're mites. You can try rubbing them off with a qtip dipped in lukewarm water.
You are talking about the dots near the base of the feelers?

 

[NathanJBoob]

Simple eyes. All mantids have them.

 

[Salmon]

Mantids have unique eye structures, and usually have 3 simple eyes in a triangular formation in the middle of their foreheads.

The dots on your mantis's face did give me the shivers at first, but then I looked it up and it turns out a ghost mantis's simple eyes are weird and disk shaped and have a disturbing resemblance to huge ticks on the poor thing's face.

 

[Andrea82]

Holy cow! Those are EYES?
I didn't know that...my knowledge of mantis is severely lacking.

 

[basin79]

Holy cow! Those are EYES?
I didn't know that...my knowledge of mantis is severely lacking.

Yes. You can see them quite clearly on mantids.

 

[Andrea82]

Yes. You can see them quite clearly on mantids.

I've seen the dots, yes. Just thought it was part of their exoskeleton, like the leaf-like protrusions on P.paradoxa or the orchid-like camouflage on a H.coronatus.
I'm not really into mantids anymore, I had them for a year or so, but they die so quickly. I only have my P.paradoxa female. I tried to breed her, but she ate the male.
I decided I liked Theraphosidae better.

 

[basin79]

I've seen the dots, yes. Just thought it was part of their exoskeleton, like the leaf-like protrusions on P.paradoxa or the orchid-like camouflage on a H.coronatus.
I'm not really into mantids anymore, I had them for a year or so, but they die so quickly. I only have my P.paradoxa female. I tried to breed her, but she ate the male.
I decided I liked Theraphosidae better.

It's heart breaking when they die. Obviously to them it's an entire lifetime but to humans it's around 12 short months.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Thanks for the help guys!